Catalogue of High-Class Seeds. 



73 



leaf, transplant singly into small pots, in a rich soil with some vegetable mould in it. Repot as often as the pots 

 become moderately filled with roots, or sufficiently often to prevent the roots from becoming pot-bound, and so 

 avoid checking the growth. If specimen plants are wanted, the repotting should be continued till the plants 

 are in pots from eight to ten inches in diameter. The last two pottings should be liberal ones, and drainage 

 well provided for, as the plants will need copious waterings. When the flower stalks appear, manure water 

 may be used once or twice a 

 week. Aphis and red spider are 

 the chief enemies to be guarded 

 against) and this is best done 

 by frequent sy ringings or 

 sprinklings overhead. The 

 plants will do best during the 

 summer out of doors, in some 

 place where they will not get 

 too much sun, and be free from 

 the drip of trees. In the fall the 

 plants should be placed in a 

 cool greenhouse, where the tem- 

 perature can be kept low and 

 the air moist. The plants should 

 be placed on a table by them- 

 selves, and the pots always kept 

 far enough apart to prevent the 

 leaves in one pot from touching 

 those in the next. In the winter 

 it may be necessary to smoke 

 the plants with tobacco occa- 

 sionally, to keep down the 

 "green fly," or aphis ; this may easily be done. 



Calceolaria. — The herbaceous varieties of the Calceolaria are very beautiful and popular plants. They 

 should be flowered in a cool greenhouse. The seeds are very small, and should be sown on the surface. Sow 

 in shallow boxes, filled with a light, sandy soil that has been sifted. Sow moderately thick in rows on the 

 surface, and cover very lightly with sifted sphagnum moss, cocoanut waste or very light soil. Press the soil 

 firmly on the seed. The watering should be done carefully ; an atomizer or brush may be used to advantage. 

 To retain the moisture, the box may be covered with panes of glass, which must be removed, however, as soon 

 as the plants make their appearance. The box should have plenty of light, but not much sun. As soon as the 

 plants can be handled, transplant singly into pots two to two-and-a-half inches in diameter. The soil should be 

 light and rich, and vegetable mould is an excellent addition. Repot as often as the pots are fairly filled with 

 roots, and continue the repotting, if fine flowers are wanted, till the plants are in pots eight inches in diameter. 

 If the pots become root bound the plants are apt to run prematurely into flower. Water regularly and abun- 

 dantly to prevent drooping. As the pots increase in size, drainage must be supplied to carry off the surplus 

 water. Place in a cool greenhouse in the winter, as directed for Cinerarias, and keep the pots apart to prevent 

 the leaves from touching. An occasional smoking with tobacco will keep down the green fly. 



Pansy.— For spring blooming, the seed should be sown in August, September and October, in a coldframe 

 with a southern aspect. Plenty of air and light are essential. During mild weather the sashes should be 

 removed ; when it is frosty, coverings are preferable to artificial heat. If wanted for winter bloom, sow in July, 

 and as soon as large enough plant on beds or benches near the glass in the greenhouse, in a low and even 

 temperature. 



Geraniums. — The Scarlet or Horseshoe Geranium (or, more properly, Pelargonium), now so extensively 

 used for bedding, may be easily grown from seed at any season of the year. If during the summer, better out 

 of doors than anywhere else ; but in a greenhouse or sitting-room during the winter. Sow the seed in pots or 

 shallow boxes, in any common soil ; cover about an eighth of an inch, and press the soil on the seed. Trans- 

 plant as soon as out of the seed-leaf, in small pots, in a soil only moderately rich ; or, if the seeds were started 

 out of doors, the plants may be put in the border. Seed sown in-doors in the fall or early winter, and the 

 plants grown in the greenhouse, will show flowers in June or July, while plants from those sown in March or 

 later will not come into flower till August and September, and some even later. Much, however, depends 

 upon the treatment, those receiving special care in pots blooming much sooner than those turned into a border 

 or bed. 



Petunias.— Fill shallow boxes with fine, light soil, say an even mixture of leaf-mould and sand, and wet 

 thoroughly by pouring on boiling water, which kills insects and heats the soil. When the soil has cooled suf- 

 ficiently but is still wafm, sow the seeds very thinly in the boxes, so that the plants may be one inch apart ; 

 cover seeds very slightly with a little sifted sand, and place slate or glass on top of the boxes. If the white 

 root-points of germination appear before the leaves, sift on more sand and replace slate, and watch closely. 

 When the small leaves appear, remove slate and give plenty of light, to produce strong, stocky plants. The 

 soil may now need water, which should be applied very gently, that the tiny seedlings may not be displaced. 

 Later the larger plants may be transplanted from seed boxes into other boxes or pots. As the weakest plants 

 frequently give the finest blossoms, care should be taken to preserve every plant until the blossoms appear. 



